Trolley wire device



sept. s, 1936. s, s, MATTHES 2,053,964"

TROLLEY WIRE DEVICE l Filed 0G13, 6, 1934 5k/Maag 5. MA v' A ttor ne yPatented Sept. v8, 12936' TROLLEY WIRE DEVICE Samuel S. Matthes,Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to The Ohio Brass Company, Mansfield, Ohio, a

corporation of New Jersey Application october 6, 1934, serial No.747,224,

1o claims. (C1. 191-39) My invention relates to a means of protectingcertain metallic parts in connection with trolley Wire sectioninsulators and other devices where arcing is likely to take place due tothe current collector leaving the metal part with the controller in theon position thusr producing a destructive arc. j g

While I have shown and described my invention as applied to and incombination with a trolley wire section insulator still it is adaptablefor use With other devices such as trolley wire insulated crossings.

My invention resides in the new and novel construction, combination andrelation of the various parts shown and described in the accompanyingdrawingand specification respectively.

Fig. 1 is a side View in elevation of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top view of one end of my'invention (the other end being thesame).

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 showing therelation of parts with and Without the passing of a current collector.

Fig. 4 is a bottom view of one end of the device shown in Fig. 1 (theother end being the same).

Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are side, end and top views respectively of thecontact4 element which I employ for preventing arcing with respect tocertain parts of thel device.

Fig. 8 is a view in section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1.

`One of the destructive conditions with respect to section insulatorsand similar devices used in connection with electric trolleys is thearcing which takes place at the leaving end of the metallic parts of theapproach end. This arcing is exceedingly severe and destructive if theoperator of the vehicle crosses the insulator with power on, that is,with his controller set at the on position. Arcing will also take placebut to a lesser degree due.. to the current which is used in connectionwith air compressors, heaters, lights, etc,

The arcing destroysfnot only the metal parts where thev arc takes placebut also the adjacent insulating portion which is usually of wood, bre,rubber, etc. r

To renew the metal and insulating parts when badly burned is expensiveand vmay. require removal of the'device from service to the repair shop.This is a considerable expense and annoyance.

AAnother objectionableieature ispthe burning of the contact surface ofthe current collector as it leaves the end member and breaks contactwith current flowing. This burns `the contactv surface of the currentcollector and roughens and pits itbadly which causes defective Contactbetween the trolley wire and collector, thus causing arcing and burningof the trolley Wire and further burning and pitting of the collectorcon-A tact surface, causing greatly reduced life of the collector anddamage to the wire.

In order to eliminate the wear due to the arcing I provide easilyrenewable and movable contact pieces adjacent the end of the metal partwhere the arcing takes place to contact with the flanges of the currentcollector. l Y v These contact pieces will require replacement from timeto time as they will burn due to arcing, but all arcing will take placeupon these renewable contact pieces and the anges of the currentcollector thus eliminating the burning of the metal runner piece oi theinsulator, the adjacent insulating portion and the contact surface ofthe current collector thus greatly increasing the life of the mainwearing parts of the section insulator and of the current collector.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention as Vrelates to a sectioninsulator I provide a body member lformed of wood, fibre, bakelitecanvas, etc. and at each end I mount thereon an end casting 2 by meansof the bolts 3 and 3'.

The end piece is provided with spaced flanges 4 between which ispositioned the insulating member I.

The member 2 is also provided with an elongated projecting portion 5provided with a longitudinal groove to receive the trolley wire 6 whichis held in place by means of the obliquely disposed set screws or othermeans L y I have shown -a metal member 8 asrseparately formedv` from themember 2 and held in place by the bolt 3 but it may be an integral partof the member 2 and its lower edge is in alignment withthat of themember I.

The end of the trolley wire 6 is in abutting relation to the end of themember 8 and its lower surface which contacts with the current ol'lector is in alignment with the lower edge of the members I and 8. j

The insulating member l and the end members 2 together with the member 8'may beof various constructions but they are practically all for thesame purpose, namely, of providing means for supporting and connectingthe ends of two adjacent .trolley Wires ini insulated.rela' tion andwith the lower surface offering a smooth, unobstructed track for thepassage of the current collector.

In order to prevent the arcing and resultant burning at the inner endsof the member 8 and the contact surface of the current collector Iprovide a pair of contactors 9 disposed preferably on opposite sides ofthe member I and overlapping the inner ends of the member 8. I pre- .ferto have the members 9 pivoted so that they may yield outwardly when thecurrent collector I0 passes across the trolley device and I prefer tomake the width between the inner faces of the contactors less than thatof the current collector so that there will be no question but that theflanges of the current collector will engage the contact members 9.

The contact members 9 are electrically connected to the members 2 andhence to the trolley Wire 6. In order to maintain a reasonably firmengagement between the current collector I0 and the contactors 9 Iprovide a spring II arranged to yieldingly force the lower ends of thecontact members inwardly or toward each other. In Fig. 3 I have shownthe contact members 9 in normal position in full lines and in contactposition with the current collector III in dotted lines.

The result of this construction is that the current collector I0 willengage with the contact members 9 before it breaks connection with themember 8, therefore, any current being demanded by the vehicle will befed from the member 2 to the iianges of the current collector I0 throughthe medium of the contacts 9 and this will prevent arcing at the innerends of the member 8 when contact between the members 8 and I0 is brokenand also upon the contact surface of the collector.

The contact members 9 may consist of a bowshaped portion I2 to permit ofeasy access of the current collector I0 between normally positionedcontact members. Projecting from the portion I2 are spaced lugs I3 eachprovided with registering openings I4 through which may be positionedthe pintle I5.

The contact members 9 may be suspended through downwardly projectingsupports I6 secured to the device and in electrical contact with themember 2 by means of the bolt 3. The members I6 are provided with lugsI1 which are pierced with registering openings to receive the pintle I5.

Various constructions may be substituted for the contacts 9 and theirsupports I6 permitting resultant operations as herein set forth with thespecific form I have shown.

After the collector has entered, engaged and passed beyond the contacts9 the springs II will return the contacts to their normal position asshown by the heavy lines in Fig. 3.

There must be simultaneous contact between the current collector I0 andthe members 8 and 9 as the collector leaves the member 8 in order toprevent arcing at the inner ends of the member 8 and the members 9 mustbe electrically connected with the trolley Wire S or its source ofsupply. The collector breaks contact with the members 9 at one end ofthe insulator before it contacts with the members 9 at the other end,thus the Wires 6 are electrically separated at all times.

The members 2 are provided with spaced arms I8 forming a clevis toreceive the end of the member I. The members 'I are obliquely set to theaxis of the trolley wire and the inner ends engage and hold the wirewith little or no pressure tending to force the wire from its groove.

If the direction of travel of the current collector relative to thedevice is unidirectional, then protection against sparking is requiredonly at one end of the device.

The member I 9 holds the wire against movement relative to the member 2and causes any crystallization of the wire to take place through thefull section of the wire outside the members 2 or I9. The end of thewire 6 within the member 2 is unbent and the end face butts against ashoulder 20 on the member 2 giving a smooth and even running surface forthe collector.

Having described my invention and particularly one form thereof, Iclaim:-

l. In a trolley wire sectionalizing and insulating device, thecombination of metallic means and means to secure the trolley wiresthereto, means to insulate the said metallic means from each other andhold them in spaced relation and contact means adjacent each metallicmeans to be engaged by a passing current collector without connectingthe trolley wire sections, means to electrically connect the contactmeans to the respective metallic means, the contact means operating tosubstantially eliminate arcing at the ends of the insulating means asthe collector crosses the device except at the contact means.

2. A trolley insulator end fitting comprising a body having spacedprojecting arms forming a socket to receive a supporting member, alongitudinally projecting member having a groove along one edge toreceive a trolley Wire, holding means comprising a screw arranged tohave one end engage the trolley wire, the axis of the screw beingoblique to the longitudinal axis of the wire to hold the wire againstwithdrawal from the groove, a separately formed renewable memberpositioned below the arms and having a contact surface in alignment withthe contact surface of the trolley wire, means to secure the memberstogether and spaced yielding means on opposite sides of the body toengage the anges of a passing current collector to prevent arcing between the collector and the second member when contact between themember and the collector is broken.

3. In a trolley wire device, the combination of, an elongated insulatingmember, ttings at each end' of the member and provided with means toreceive the adjacent ends of a trolley wire and means to secure the endsof the wire in place, the inner ends of the fittings being in juxtaposedrelation to the insulating member and subject to arcing at the passingof a current collector, contactors on opposite sides of the device andelectrically connected to the trolley wire and overlapping the adjacentportions of the member and fittings at the point of arcing to engagewith the passing current collector as it moves across the device toprevent arcing between the current collector and the fittings, thecontact between the contactors and the current collector arranged to bebroken before the collector becomes electrically connected with thetrolley wire at the other end of the device to maintain the wireselectrically separated as the collector crosses the device.

4. In a trolley wire device, the combination of, an elongated insulatingmember, fittings at each end of the member provided with means toreceive the adjacent ends of a trolley wire and means to secure theendsof the wire in spaced and insulated relation, the inner ends of thefittings being in juxtaposed relation to the insulating member andsubject to arcing at the passing of a current collector, contactors onopposite sides and at the ends of the device and electrically connectedto the fittings and overlapping the adjacent portions of the member andfittings at the point of arcing to engage with the fianges of thepassing current collector as it moves across the device to preventarcing between the contact surface of the collector and the fittings,the contactors being so related that the collector will break contactwith the contactors at one end of the device before it engages thecontactors at the other end to prevent electrically connecting theadjacent ends of the trolley wire.

5. In a trolley wire insulating device, the combination of, an elongatedinsulating member, fittings at each end of the member provided withmeans to receive the adjacent ends of a sectionalized trolley wire andmeans to secure the wirel ends in place, the inner ends of the fittingsbeing subject to arcing at the passing of a current collector, pivotallymounted contactors on opposite sides of the device and electricallyconnected to the fittings and overlapping the adjacent portions of themember and fittings at the point of arcing to engage the flanges of thepassing current collector as it moves across the device to preventarcing, the sections of the trolley wire being insulated from each otherand the collector breaking contact with the contactors at one end beforeit becomes electrically connected to the wire at the other end.

6. A trolley insulator end fitting comprising a body having spacedprojecting arms forming a recess to receive a supporting member andhaving a longitudinally disposed portion projecting in the oppositedirection to the arms and having a groove along one edge to receive atrolley wire with the lower surface of the Wire exposed, meansassociated with the projecting portion to hold the wire in place, meansprojecting from the arms and positioned below the arms and having acontact surface in alignment with the lower surface of the wire andmeans to secure the fitting to the supporting member.

7. A trolley insulator end fitting comprising a body having spacedprojecting arms forming a recess to receive a supporting member andhaving a longitudinally disposed portion projecting in the oppositedirection to the arms and having a groove along one edge to receive atrolley wire with the lower surface of the wire exposed, meansassociated with the projecting portion to hold the wire in place, meansprojecting from the arms and positioned below the arms and having acontact surface in alignment with the lower surface of the wire, meansto secure the tting to the supporting member, and means electricallyconnected to the arms to engage a passing current collector to preventarcing between the collector and the last said projecting means.

8. In a trolley wire sectionalizing device to support and maintain thesections insulated from each other, the combination of, an elongatedinsulating member, metallic means at each end of the member to receiveand hold the end of the trolley wire sections to be supported thereby,means associated with each metallic means and electrically connectedthereto to be engaged by the fianges of a passing current collector toprevent arcing between the current collector and the metallic means asthe collector crosses the device in either direction withoutelectrically connecting the sections of trolley wire.

9. In a trolley wire sectionalizing device to support and maintain thesections insulated from each other, the combination of, an elongatedinsulating member, metallic means at each end ,of the member to receiveand hold the end of the trolley Wire section to be supported thereby,means associated with one of the metallic means and electricallyconnected thereto to be engaged by the flanges on a passing currentcollector to prevent arcing between the current collector and themetallic means as the collector crosses the device in one direction, theflanges of the collector breaking contact with the said associated meansbefore the collector engages the metallic means at the other end of thedevice.

l0, A device to insulate two trolley wires from each other and maintainthem in a fixed relation comprising, an insulating member, spacedmetallic means secured to the insulating member to which the trolleyWires are secured and means to secure the wires thereto, arcing membersassociated with one of the metallic means and electrically connected toone trolley wire, the arcing members arranged to contact with theflanges of a passing current collector before the normal contact surfaceof the collector breaks contact with the metallic means and thecollector breaks contact with the saidarcing members before thecollector contacts with the other metallic means to maintain the wiresinsulated from each other at all times.

SAMUEL S. MATTHES.

